Encounters

Dear Gentle Reader,
A special pleasure of walking around Sail Bay is the opportunity to meet people of varied ages, nationalities, sizes, and garb. Today I had two such encounters.

After walking toward the library, I was returning home via the bay walk when a city parks vehicle approached me, driving on the sand. I was in a happy mood, having just had a conversation with two neighbors whom I hadn’t seen in a long while. So after the vehicle drew to a stop near me, I said to the driver (his windows were open), "Hello, sir! Is there any way that I can help you today?"

A young man bounced out of the pickup and greeted me. He was in a happy mood, too. (It’s easier to be happy when you’re on the beach, perhaps.) "I’ve been around here for ten years, and now I have the best job in the world!" he announced. I agreed that he was certainly blessed to have such a job on a beautiful day.

"Do you live near here?" he asked me. I pointed across the bay. "One of those condo buildings over there." His expression said, "Wow, so close to the water!"

"It’s from God," I acknowledged. "It was truly a gift to be able to live here."

"That’s my situation, too," he responded enthusiastically, pointing to the sky to indicate his gratitude to God. "That’s the only reason I have this job. Oh, I work hard. I’m responsible for this whole beach over to the Ingraham Bridge, as well as the park. But it’s like taking care of my own back yard," he explained, striding into a plot of iceplant and retrieving a food wrapper someone had tossed there.

"I grew up around here, and my grandparents ran that Subway store over there on Mission Bay Drive."

I nodded, familiar with the location he mentioned. Then I observed, "You’ve found your function, your calling, and that’s why you’re so happy."

"Absolutely. I try to keep all the flowers growing so it will be pretty around here. I need to turn on the sprinkling system and give these plants a little shower. See you again!"

I continued toward home and within a couple blocks, I noticed a beautiful, lilting song floating up toward the boardwalk (which is not really "board" but cement.) A young woman was walking along the sand, close to the edge of the water. Intrigued by her song, which I didn’t recognize, I started angling toward her to see if she was singing to the Lord.

Drawing closer to her, she turned and gave me a smile. Then I saw the headphones and realized that she’d been singing along with recorded music. I complimented her on her beautiful singing. "Oh, I sing with several San Diego choruses," she said. "And that’s my hope, that when I sing outdoors, people passing by will enjoy it."

I wondered aloud if singing was her function, her gift, that brought happiness to herself as well as others. "Oh yes," she agreed, beaming. "When you find your function, it’s bliss!"

"Well, my function is to encourage people to recognize God and worship Him," I told her, wondering what her reaction might be.

She waved her arm to indicate all the beauty of our location. "Who wouldn’t see His creative hand and be grateful for all this?" she asked. We visited a few moments longer and then I headed back up to the sidewalk. "Good-bye, dear," she called as I walked away. We’d connected in a way we both appreciated.

A pencil’s function is to write. A bird’s function is to sing. Doing what we were created to do is such a joy. Have you found your function? Gratitude is a good place to start.